Ram Temple Donation Case: Chargesheet Filed, Bail Pleas Deferred
Hearing for two remaining accused postponed after bar association raises objections following chargesheet filing
- Bail hearing for two remaining accused deferred to Thursday.
- Bar association raised objections following chargesheet filing.
- Six other accused have already had their bail pleas rejected.
- Prosecution says Rs 79.85 lakh was recovered during the investigation.
GG News Bureau
Ayodhya, 24th Sept: The hearing on the bail applications of the two remaining accused in the Ram temple donation theft case was deferred to Thursday after the local bar association raised objections following the filing of the chargesheet, their lawyer said.
The bail applications of Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav will now be heard on Thursday, advocate Kul Shekhar Singh said.
The hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday before Special Judge Rajat Verma of the Anti-Corruption Court. However, it could not take place following objections raised by the local bar association after police filed the chargesheet in the case.
According to Singh, the chargesheet has been filed and taken cognisance of by the court, but the accused have not yet received a copy of the document.
“Once we receive the copy of the chargesheet, which runs into thousands of pages, further legal action or response from our side will be decided,” Singh said.
Six accused denied bail
A special court on Monday rejected the bail applications of Avinash Shukla, Manish Kumar Yadav and Ram Shankar Mishra. On Tuesday, the court rejected the bail pleas of Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey.
Singh said the judicial custody of these six accused has subsequently been extended by 14 days.
Most of those arrested in the case are bank employees deployed for counting cash donations at the temple. Subhash Srivastava was allegedly responsible for the donation-counting process, while Tinnu Yadav worked as a driver and was described as a close aide of former Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai.
Trust officials’ names not in chargesheet, lawyer says
Singh also said information available to the local bar association indicated that the names of former Trust officials Anil Mishra, Champat Rai and Gopal Rao were not included in the chargesheet and that no charges had been made against them.
Earlier, the bar association had submitted an application to the police seeking that the Trust officials also be brought within the scope of the investigation.
Investigation into alleged embezzlement
The case concerns allegations of embezzlement and theft of cash and valuables offered by devotees at the Ram temple.
Eight people were arrested after an FIR was registered on June 25, following a preliminary report by a state government-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The prosecution has said investigators recovered Rs 79.85 lakh in connection with the case.
The investigation was being conducted by the SIT, which had informed the Supreme Court that its chargesheet would be filed by September 25.
The allegations against the accused are subject to judicial proceedings, and further developments are expected after the chargesheet is made available to the defence.
